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Oklahoma & the Wild West
5 Days
Day 1
You best pull on your boots and strap on your chaps as you head into Oklahoma today. The first stop is Guthrie, once the capital of Oklahoma Territory and the state’s first capital city. Guthrie’s downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and most of the town has been restored to its original Victorian-style architecture. Visit the Blue Bell Saloon, where Tom Mix tended bar. Hear tales surrounding Miss Lizzy’s Bordello, now a collection of reputable shops. Allow plenty of time for shopping. After sampling dinner at the Granny Had One you’re off to a Broadway-style performance at the restored Pollard Theater.
Day 2
Climb aboard a trolley ride to the Scottish Rite Temple. This is one of the world’s largest Masonic lodges, with an ancient Egyptian room, a Roman atrium, a Pompeiian room, Gothic library and an Italian Renaissance lounge . Other fun attractions include the National Lighter Museum, the Oklahoma Frontier Drug Store Museum, the Double Stop Fiddle Shop, State Capital Publishing Museum and the Oklahoma Territorial Museum. Wave so-long to Guthrie and say hello to “the city that was built in a day,” Oklahoma City! Switch gears and be transformed into an “Urban Cowboy” when your boots hit the sidewalks of Bricktown, Oklahoma City’s entertainment, shopping and dining district complete with a river walk canal. Overnight in Oklahoma City.
Day 3
The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum represents the best of the west through a superlative collection of classic and contemporary Western art, including works by Charles Russell, Fredrick Remington, and the famous 18-foot sculpture, The End of the Trail. The historical galleries, Prosperity Junction (a re-created authentic western town) and the statuary gardens are outstanding features of this attraction. Visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Memorial Museum. The Memorial grounds are referred to as the Symbolic Memorial and honor the victims, survivors, rescuers, and all who were changed forever on April 19, 1995. It encompasses the now-sacred soil where the Murrah Federal Building once stood; capturing and preserving forever the place and events that changed the world. Visitors hear the only known recording of the explosion, see the chaos and devastation immediately following the bombing including bomb-damaged artifacts. Touching stories from the survivors, rescue workers and families combine to create a powerful and unforgettable experience. While downtown also visit the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Center featuring a three-story atrium which is home to the 55-foot high glass sculpture by world-renowned glass sculptor Dale Chihuly. Pieces from the museum’s permanent collection include European, Asian, and American art. Nearby visit the Myriad Botanical Gardens and the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory is a seven-story glass conservatory with waterfalls and an upper-level skywalk that has great views of the gardens below. Tonight dine at the Cattlemen’s Steakhouse, where beef is the star attraction at this classic steak house in the heart of Stockyards City. Don’t be surprised to meet up with a modern-day cowboy or two. Head out for an evening of boot-stomping’ dance or last minute shopping. Overnight in Oklahoma City.
Day 4
Oklahoma City to Lawton to Oklahoma City. Today, explore the region southwest of Oklahoma City, first visiting Anadarko, formerly the hunting ground of the Wichita, Kiowa and Comanche Tribes, to name a few. This area is extremely rich in American Indian history, artifacts, artwork and crafts. See American Indian dwellings, representing nine different American Indian Nations at Indian City, USA. Visit the National Hall of Fame for Famous Indians and the Southern Plains Indian Museum nearby. Continue south toward Lawton, Oklahoma’s third largest city. Enjoy the spectacular views of the Wichita Mountains. Watch for bison, longhorn cattle and other wildlife as you drive through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The Visitors Center in the refuge offers a wide array of exhibits, a gift shop and a theater room allowing guests to learn the history and lore of these great mountains. In Lawton, visit the Museum of the Great Plains and historic Fort Sill. Established in 1874, the Fort is still a working military post today. Members of the Chiricahua Apache were imprisoned here in the late 19th century. Their leader, Geronimo, is buried on the grounds.
Day 5
Head for Duncan, the home to the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center and Museum which commemorates and celebrates the great history and heritage of the old Chisholm Trail and the other Great Cattle Trails of the late 19th century. The Center includes the largest bronze sculpture in Oklahoma, a monumental statue of a cattle drive, and an adjacent museum and visitor center. Inside the museum, displays and galleries put you on the old Trail. The recent expansion houses four major state-of-the-art historical and educational attractions. The new gallery contains interactive, computer/video-based, and traditional exhibits. The Chisholm Trail Environmental Theater uses leading-edge technology and state-of-the-art visual and physical special effects. Viewers in the Environmental Theater will experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the old Trail. In the courtyard area, standing nearly 15 feet high atop it's immense base and stretching almost 35 feet across the horizon is a majestic work of art, titled "On the Chisholm Trail.” Downtown Duncan's picture-book Main Street is home to numerous antique shops, a drugstore with a soda fountain unique shopping. Notice the sidewalks made from the regions native sandstone creating a trail with Duncan's history in blocks of granite. Of special interest are the blocks representing Duncan natives, actor and director Ron Howard and UN Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick. The Stephens County Historical Museum features displays on the cattle drives, pioneers, the oil boom and the Plains Indians artifacts.
(4-02-04)
